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Saturday, August 10, 2013

UAE exploits soccer to counter charges of human rights abuse

The recent sentencing in the United Arab Emirates of scores
of dissidents on charges of plotting to overthrow the government and UAE
support for the military coup that ousted Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi has
sparked assertions that the country is using its acquisition of Manchester City
and a franchise to establish a New York-based Major League Soccer team to polish
an image increasingly tarnished by autocratic and counterrevolutionary
policies.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) in statements to The
Guardian newspaper warned that the UAE was using soccer to launder its image.
Former English Football Association chairman Lord Triesman has called for
making a country’s human rights record one of the criteria for establishing
whether a state entity or member of a ruling family passes the "fit and
proper person test" for ownership of a Premier League club.

HRW along with Amnesty International, the Emirates Centre
for Human Rights and prominent human rights lawyers and activists like Sir
Geoffrey Robertson condemned the mass trial of 94 people of which 69 were
sentenced to lengthy prison terms as unfair and a violation of due process because
a denial of legal assistance while being held incommunicado pretrial, allegations
of torture, and the lack of a right to appeal. In its response, the UAE justice
ministry implicitly did not rule out torture, arguing that alleged victims
should have reported abuse to the police.

The defendants, who include lawyers, teachers and academics,
were accused of being Muslim Brothers. Deeply hostile to the group, the UAE
backed the military coup against Mr. Morsi that has thrown Egypt into crisis
and has since together with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait bankrolled the
military-appointed successor of the ousted president. The backing was part of a
larger Saudi-dominated effort to stymie the wave of protest and revolt that has
been sweeping the Middle East and North Africa for more than two years. The Brotherhood
last week rejected a mediation attempt in Egypt by a senior US official as well
as the foreign ministers of the UAE and Qatar, the only Gulf state to back the
group.

HRW researcher Nicholas McGeehan, describing the UAE as "a
black hole" for basic human rights, told The Guardian that "In this
situation, a Premier League club (Manchester City) is being used as a branding vehicle
to promote and effectively launder the reputation of a country perpetrating
serial human rights abuses. That should be of concern to football supporters as
well as human rights organizations." The paper quoted Human Rights Watch
as saying further that Abu Dhabi’s purchase of Manchester City enabled it to "construct
a public relations image of a progressive, dynamic Gulf state, which deflects
attention from what is really going on in the country".

The portrayal of acquisitions of prominent soccer clubs as
an effort to launder a country’s reputation casts a shadow over a foreign and
security policy as well as a soft power strategy deployed by both the UAE and Qatar
that is designed to endear themselves to a Western public and embed themselves
in the international community in a way that would ensure support in times of
need. Both countries recall the success of Kuwait, another small Gulf state
incapable of defending itself, in rallying the international community in 1990
and 1991 to force the withdrawal of invading Iraqi forces.

The linking by human rights activists of the acquisition of
Western soccer clubs to the human rights record of the home countries of a
buyer is closely linked to the emergence of mega-events like the World Cup
which will be hosted by Qatar in 2022 as platforms for campaigns for human, labor
and gender rights.

In addition to the World Cup, Qatar has bought Paris St.
Germain while its state-owned global broadcaster, Al Jazeera, has secured
rights for the Premier League as well as the French and the Italian soccer
competitions. The network has further launched a sports network in the United
States and is about to launch a 24-hour US-based news channel.

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan, a member of the UAE’s
ruling family, bought Manchester City in 2008. The sheikh is UAE deputy prime
minister and minister of presidential affairs, a brother of Abu Dhabi crown
prince and deputy supreme military commander Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed
al-Nahyan, and a half-brother of UAE president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed
al-Nahyan. He is also responsible as chairman of the Abu Dhabi judiciary for
the court that convicted the dissidents.

UAE officials have insisted that the acquisition of
Manchester City as well as this year’s agreement to invest in the creation of a
20th Major League Soccer team was a personal rather than a
government investment. Most analysts however, given the al-Nahyan’s grip on
state affairs, take that assertion with a grain of salt. Manchester City has
won since the acquisition sponsorship from major Abu Dhabi or UAE state institutions,
including airline Etihad, telecommunications company Etisalat, investment
company Aabar and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.

Neither the UAE nor Qatar initially realized that the
deployment of soft power using soccer would also entail that they would become
more vulnerable to criticism of their adherence to human and other rights. So
far, Qatar, despite foreign policy setbacks as a result of its backing of the
Brotherhood and other Islamist forces, has proven more adept in deflecting the
criticism, particularly on the issue of the rights of foreign workers, who
constitute a majority of the population in both countries.

The Gulf state has until now been able to fend off demands
by international trade unions that it allow the formation of independent
workers’ organizations and endorse the principle of collective bargaining by
taking far reaching steps to improve material working and living conditions.
Qatar Foundation, a state-owned body focused on education and research, has
adopted rules that oblige contractors to pay a worker’s ticket to Qatar from
his or her home country and give employees three weeks’ vacation a year. Qatar is
also looking at an overhaul of the recruitment system that would shield workers
from becoming indebted to agents who charge exorbitant fees. The UAE and other
Gulf states have sought to reform their foreign labor system, but to a lesser
extent than Qatar.

James M. Dorsey is
a Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies as Nanyang
Technological University in Singapore, co-director of the Institute of Fan
Culture of the University of Würzburg, and the author of the blog, The Turbulent World of Middle East
Soccer.

1 comment:

After all, it isn't like the President of the UAE is a holder of the 'Nobel Peace Prize' and whose administration invades, bombs and drone strikes countries around the world and treats whistle blowers of the regimes corrupt policies no different than terrorists...

Nor do Prime Ministers of the UAE, routine lie, conceal, obfuscate evidence in a run up to a war on third world countries. A war that shatters said third world country, spreads terrorism, and destabilizes the entire region... never mind the fact that WMDs were never found at all.

... I mean, countries like the UK and the USA would't stoop to such "un-democratic" behaviour!

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About Me

James M DorseyWelcome to The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer by James M. Dorsey, a senior fellow at Nanyang Technological University’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies. Soccer in the Middle East and North Africa is played as much on as off the pitch. Stadiums are a symbol of the battle for political freedom; economic opportunity; ethnic, religious and national identity; and gender rights. Alongside the mosque, the stadium was until the Arab revolt erupted in late 2010 the only alternative public space for venting pent-up anger and frustration. It was the training ground in countries like Egypt and Tunisia where militant fans prepared for a day in which their organization and street battle experience would serve them in the showdown with autocratic rulers. Soccer has its own unique thrill – a high-stakes game of cat and mouse between militants and security forces and a struggle for a trophy grander than the FIFA World Cup: the future of a region. This blog explores the role of soccer at a time of transition from autocratic rule to a more open society. It also features James’s daily political comment on the region’s developments. Contact: incoherentblog@gmail.comView my complete profile